AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, for the record, I think you staying here is a terrible decision. So, I guess we’re even.” I look down, anger dissipating, then glance back up with a small smile. “Danny?”
His eyes meet mine without a word.
“Thank you,” I whisper, pressing up on my toes to wrap him in a hug.
He’s tense in my arms at first, obviously uncomfortable, but eventually, I feel him relax. His arms go around me cautiously. “I should’ve known. You always were stubborn. Even back then.”
I squeeze him tighter, then let go, dropping back down. “I don’t want to lose you. I just got you back.”
He shrugs one shoulder. “I’ll always be around.”
“Not really. Not in a way that counts.”
He sighs. “Mae, don’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“I’m glad you’ve lived a life that’s been easy, but most of us—”
“Easy?” I shout, slapping him in the chest. He doesn’t flinch. “I lost my brother when I was a toddler. My mother has been dying my whole life. I may not have had the life you have, but nothing about my life has been easy!”
He pulls me into another hug, and tears stream down my cheeks without warning. “I love you, too, baby sister. And I always will. Now, let’s go.”
Without saying any actual goodbyes, he leads me to the upper deck of the cargo ship we’re on and speaks to a group of men I don’t recognize in a language I can’t understand. The island we’re on is small and rocky, ominous. A thick fog has begun to settle in, making the dreary island that much more chilling. I don’t like the feeling it gives me.
Minutes later, I’m taken off of one boat onto the bleak island and then shown to a smaller boat.
Danny follows close behind us, but when we near the boat, he slows his stride. As the men pass by us, he doesn’t touch me, hardly looks at me in front of them. When they board, hauling supplies and untying ropes, it gives us a moment of privacy. He speaks to me while staring at the horizon, his eyes squinting in the sun. I try to memorize them. Remember the way he looks, the way he sounds. I never want to forget. “They will get you back to shore safely, okay? They’ll take care of you. Keep you safe. What you do once you’re back home is up to you. Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself.”
“I will. But promise me something too, okay?” I say, keeping my voice low. “Promise me that you know there will always be a place for you should you decide to come home.”
He nods once, stepping back and gesturing forward as I cross the sandy shore toward the boat. I try not to cry as we pull away from the shore. He waves with a hand over his head. For a moment, he looks nothing like a man in charge of a criminal empire and everything like the little boy I remember.
On the way, I sit quietly, the wind whipping in my face. We pass through the tail end of the storm and I wrap my arms around myself as rain soaks my clothing, but it’s over almost as quickly as it started. Further into the night, once it’s completely dark out and we’re surrounded by an empty sort of nothingness, I watch in awe as we pass a yacht on the water.
Passing it makes me think of the vacation I was meant to take, the cruise I’d been dreading. Now, all I want to do is start over. Take an actual vacation with the man I love and my best friend. All I want to do is kiss my husband.
The wind picks up and I wrap my arms around myself, wondering how it cooled down so fast. I think of what I’m going to say to everyone when I get back, how I’m going to explain what happened.
How I’m going to confront my father.
How I’ll brace my mother for such devastation.
When I’m not worrying or planning, I sleep. The few times I am awake during the trip, the men provide me with bottled water and prepackaged snacks, but it does nothing for the hunger I feel. My stomach is in a constant state of agonizing cramps, begging for something with sustenance. When we finally get back to the port I departed from not so long ago, a full day has passed and we’re creeping into a new evening. I’m sunburned and exhausted.
As we get closer and closer to the dock, I stand. My heart could explode from how excited I am to be home. To be safe.
I jump out of the boat when the water is still waist deep and bolt for the beach. My lungs and legs burn, but it’s not enough to stop moving. Nothing could ever be enough at this point.
On dry land, I go to the first place I can think of. Shoreline Grill hasn’t changed a bit since I last saw it. I walk across the sandy patio and past the metal high-top tables and the chalkboard easel displaying today’s special. Approaching the counter, I lean over it and draw the attention of a young waitress.
“Hi, do you think I could use the phone?”
“Um…” She hesitates. “Let me check.” She turns and disappears into the kitchen. A few seconds later, she returns with an older woman who looks at me dubiously.
“How can I help you, hon?”
Zach’s parents must’ve hired someone to run the restaurant for them, as her name tag says she’s the manager. For as long as I can remember, they were the only ones running this place.
